A beautiful old
hymn, “Be Still
My Soul” was
created through
the work of
three different
composers.
Katharina von
Schlegel wrote
the lyrics. One
hundred years
later Jane
Borthwick
translated this
beautiful hymn
into English
from German.
Finally, the
great composer
of Finland, Jean
Sibelius,
provided the
tune from his
music
composition of
“Finlandia.”

Be still, my
soul: the Lord
is on thy side;

Bear patiently
the cross of
grief or pain;

Leave to thy God
to order and
provide;

In every change
He faithful will
remain

Be still, my
soul: thy best,
thy heavenly
Friend

Thro’ thorny
ways leads to a
joyful end

Be still, my
soul: thy God
doth undertake

To guide the
future as He has
the past

Thy hope, thy
confidence let
nothing shake

All now
mysterious shall
be bright at
last

Be still, my
soul: the waves
and winds still
know

His voice who
ruled them while
He dwelt below

Be still, my
soul: the hour
is hastening on

When we shall be
forever with the
Lord

When
disappointment,
grief, and fear
are gone

Sorrow forgot,
love’s purest
joys restored

Be still, my
soul: when
change and tears
are past

All safe and
blessed we shall
meet at last

Sometimes, one
of the hardest
things for a
Christian to do
is … nothing.
Obviously, I
need to explain.

Is it possible
that we as
Christians could
often be just
too busy? Even
in our service
for the Lord,
could we be too
busy at times?

We live in a
very fast-paced
society. Between
our home life
and job, we stay
so busy,
everything is a
blur. Add to
that the
activity
surrounding our
church lives,
and the days,
weeks and months
fly by. Before
you know it,
years are behind
us, and we
wonder where
they went. How
much of that
time was used to
relax and be
quiet? I dare
say, not much,
if any.

Pastors are
renowned for
forsaking family
time in favor of
their church
leadership
responsibilities,
but this isn’t
wise. Others are
just as busy in
other activities
until we are
like bees around
a hive, or ants
over an ant
hill.

The Lord expects
us to rest. That
is why He gave
us a day of
“rest.” That is
the reason for
sleep at night.
The Israelites
were to rest the
fields every
seven years. We
all need rest.
For the
Christian there
is an added
benefit to rest.
It is seen in
the following
verse:

“Be
still, and know
that I am God: I
will be exalted
among the
heathen, I will
be exalted in
the earth.”
(Psalms 46:10)

Obviously, we
are to rest from
our activities,
our busy
schedules, and
take a
“time-out.” On
several
occasions in the
Scriptures we
read where Jesus
went “up into a mountain to pray.” Peter went upon the housetop to pray.
Daniel prayed
three times a
day, every day.

If Jesus, who is
God, felt that
He needed to get
away from the
crowds
occasionally to
be in solitude
with the Father,
should not we?
No child of God,
who has ever
lived, including
the Apostle
Paul, has ever
had a ministry
as important as
Jesus’ ministry,
but yet, Jesus
needed the time
to be quiet,
“rest,” before
the Father in
Heaven.

Notice also,
that Jesus did
not wait until
He had an
opportunity to
get away from
the hustle and
bustle. He made
the opportunity.
He walked away
and got by
himself to be
alone with the
Father. That is
what it means to
“rest,” to “be still and know that I am God.” What do we do? We make excuses.
Oh, we’ve got a
million of them.
Excuses,
excuses,
excuses, all He
hears from us
are excuses.

One of the most
important things
in the Christian
life is to
diligently study
God’s Word,
daily, but even
then, we need to
take the time to
“be
still, and know
that I am God.”

Have you ever
tried to talk to
someone while
they were busy
doing something
else? Did you
feel like you
were getting
their undivided
attention? Could
it be that God
experiences this
same feeling
when He says to
us, “be
still, and know
that I am God?”
I’m sure it is.
We think we are
great
multi-taskers,
and we can
listen to God
while doing all
these other
things that
“just have to
get done.”
Apparently, the
Lord sees it
differently, or
He wouldn’t be
telling us to “be
still, and know
that I am God.”

What is the
number one
reason for
church
attendance,
whether it is in
a church
building, a home
or under a tree
… to be fed and
equipped for
service? Why did
Jesus go off by
Himself to be
with the Father
… to be fed and
equipped for
service?

“For
where two or
three are
gathered
together in my
name, there am I
in the midst of
them.”
(Matthew 18:20)

When Jesus was
alone with the
Father, the
Trinity met as
one. The Son
(1), the Father
(2) and the Holy
Spirit (3) met
as one. The one
God met in all
three of His
roles as God.
When we are
alone with God,
there are two,
us and our one
God we serve.
When we and a
family member
meet alone with
God, we are
three, us our
family member
and our one God
we serve. If we
are in a
congregation of
believers, we
meet as
multiples alone
with God. The
fact remains
though there are
times that he
wants to be
alone with His
children, one on
one, and for us
to “be still, and know that I am God.” I believe this is part of what
the Apostle Paul
was saying to
Timothy in the
following verse.

“And
that ye study to
be
quiet (emphasis mine), and to do your own business, and to work with
your own hands,
as we commanded
you;” (1
Thessalonians
4:11)

Have you ever
met with another
person and they
just rambled on
and on? They’re
talking like a
Magpie and you
can’t get a word
in. Are we so
much a
chatterbox God
can’t get a word
in either? What
He is trying to
tell us is this;
as He leads us
to a quiet
place, He is
putting his
fingers over our
lips to hush us,
saying, “Be
still, and know
that I am God.”